New Planner!!

I am a planner fanatic.  I've had one at all times since my sophomore year of college. It's also one thing I've hoarded.  I still have them all.  (Well, except that I went through a several-year Franklin Covey phase.  Those planners have 1 or 2 whole pages a day.  I did not keep all the pages from those planners, just key pages.)  I don't know why I keep them.  I guess they are the closest thing I have to a diary.  I have always sucked at actual diary-keeping.

Over the years, I tried pretty much every format out there.  Every size.  Every arrangement of pages.  One-page-a-day, two-page-a-day, one week on two pages etc. etc. etc.  I've just never been 100% satisfied.  I finally decided it's because that is not the way my brain works.  My brain works in a list format. So after MUCH searching for the perfect format, I finally stumbled upon do-it-yourself planners.

And now I have a new obsession with the Arc planner/ notebook system from Staples.  Here's my 1st go.  It's the junior size planner, with lots of plastic dividers- from both the ARC line and from the Martha Stewart line (also at staples - and yes they are interchangeable).  I bought all the flags and tabs and page markers, and some Martha Stewart to-do list packs (that's the first little short page you see in the pic below).  And lots of blank paper in various formats.  I learned very quickly that I needed the 2 things I did NOT buy on my first trip to Staples - the hole punch and the upgraded size discs.

Sidenote: Jason rode with me on my first trip to Staples, which is a little over 20 miles away in Pascagoula, MS. We counted 52 rabbits on the trip. See here the article about bunny counting.    http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/05/4778978/bunny-counting-contest-is-hoppin.html 

  So today, Mom was here and we had some time to run around before going to see KES once she woke up from her nap, and I convinced her to ride back to Staples with me.  We counted only 17 rabbits, but it was about 2pm which is not their prime-time.  

These new discs look huge, but I know I will expand into them.  I have already made sections in the planner for Gardening, Blogging, Home, Secret Codes, Books, Doodling, and yes, WORK.  However, I did something new in this planner.  I put the work sections in the very back, because I am trying to remind myself every time I open this planner that although my job is very important to me, I need to stop letting it always be the top priority all the time.




After all my internet searching I still never found a planner page format I really liked, so I decided to make my own!  With my hubby's help (he's a photoshop wiz), we used one of my own doodles and modified a free downloadable blog planner I found from www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com.  It's simple and easy, and it really all I think I need.  It has space right after the date for any appointments I have, the space next to that is for me to record my time each day for my time report, the 8 little circles on each day are for me to mark that I drank the water I'm supposed to drink, and the W on each day is for me to mark that I WALKED (or rode my bike or whatever).

I am super sure that this will go through 100 iterations through time, but I so VERY happy with the way my first attempt turned out!    I feel more organized and clear-headed already.  Can't wait to really start using this new tool!

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